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Ayon Island is an island in the coast of Chukotka in the East Siberian Sea. The island itself consists mainly of low-lying tundra, and is primarily populated by the Chukchi people, who use the tundra as pasture for their reindeer herds.

Ayon
View of the village on Ayon Island
Ayon
Location in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Geography
LocationEast Siberian Sea
Coordinates69°45′N 168°30′E
Area2,000 km2 (770 sq mi)
Length63 km (39.1 mi)
Width38 km (23.6 mi)
Administration
Russia
OkrugChukotka Autonomous Okrug
Demographics
Population440 (2006)
Pop. density0.22/km2 (0.57/sq mi)
Ethnic groupsChukchi

Geography


It is located on the western side of the Chaunskaya Bay, directly off the Nutel'gyrgym Peninsula, at the eastern end of the Kolyma Gulf. The island is 63 km long and 38 km wide. It is generally low and flat and there are many small lakes and swamps. Ayon Island is separated from the mainland by the Maly Chaunsky Strait, a shallow channel which is barely 2 km wide in its narrowest spot. The bay to the south and east is Chaunskaya Guba. Administratively[citation needed] and municipally,[1] Ayon Island belongs to Chaunsky District, part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Federation.

There are two small settlements, Elvuney[2] (now abandoned)[3] and Ayon in the northwestern end of the island.


Etymology


The name of the island is thought to come from one of two sources. Firstly, it is suggested that it comes from the Chukchi word "Ayo", meaning "brain", as the islands shape is somewhat like a brain.[2] The second school of though is that it is derived from Chukchi meaning "coming alive", in reference to the fact that although the island is covered in ice and snow during the winter, in the summer, this melts and the island provides a good pasture for reindeer herds as well as being the home to swarms of midges and gadflies.[2]


Economy



Soviet Russia


Following the rise of communism in the Soviet Union in the first part of the twentieth century, the native herds were collectivised in 1933 into a group called "Enmitagino".[2] Such collectivisation was very successful on the island and in 1950, the collective in Ayon was turned into a formal Kolkhoz that would eventually have around 22,000 reindeer under its control.[2] In addition to reindeer herding, the new collective was also engaged in sea-hunting and the collection of furs.[4]

A polar station was established on the site of the village in 1941 and the icebreaker Krasin brought Pyotr Sidersky and a crew of seven people to man the new station.[4] This was the first time that the village site had been inhabited permanently, with indigenous people living there only during the summer when the reindeer were taken to pasture, with the exception of a few individuals who would over-winter in order to hunt.[4]

By 1944, the settlement had become increasingly permanent and there were 103 people living in 23 houses.[4]


Post-Soviet


However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, state support was withdrawn and the herders, who had been used to being supplied with the latest technology by the state now found that not only did they have to fend for themselves with regards to the day to day herding, but that there was no guarantee that they would even receive the money they were owed for the meat they provided to the state.[2]

The result of this is that the herds have shrunk from 22,000 to only around 4,000. the result of this is that there is considerable unemployment in the town.[2] This has led to a lot of drinking, which not only has sociological effects, but the litter produced also encourages disease from which the reindeer now suffer, further reducing the size of the herd.[2]


Adjacent islands



See also



References



Notes


  1. Law #46-OZ, Article 2
  2. indigenous.ru - History of Ayon
  3. Weather forecast for El'vuney
  4. Petit Fute, Chukotka, p.110f.

Sources





На других языках

[de] Aion (Insel)

Aion (russisch Айон, deutsch auch Ajon) ist eine Insel westlich der Tschaunbucht der Ostsibirischen See im Nordosten Sibiriens (Russland).
- [en] Ayon Island

[es] Isla Ayon

La isla Ayón (en ruso, Остров Айон; en ruso transliterado: Óstrov Ayón) es una isla habitada del ártico ruso, localizada en aguas del mar de Siberia Oriental.

[fr] Île Aïon

L’île Aïon est une île, située à l'entrée de la baie de Tchaoun, en mer de Sibérie orientale, en Russie. Distante de 3,5 km de la terre ferme, elle en est séparée au sud-est par le détroit de Maly Tchaounski. Elle dépend administrativement du district autonome de Tchoukotka, dans l'Extrême-Orient russe. L'île mesure 62 km de longueur sur 38 km de largeur dans sa partie centrale. Sa superficie est d'environ 2000 km². Elle comprend trois autres îles dont l'Île Mosey.

[it] Isola Ajon

L'isola Ajon (in russo: остров Айон), che si chiamava precedentemente Zavadej o Sabadej (Завадей, Сабадей), è un'isola al largo della costa della penisola dei Čukči, nel mare della Siberia orientale, Russia. Amministrativamente l'isola appartiene al Čaunskij rajon a sua volta parte del Circondario autonomo della Čukotka.

[ru] Айон (остров)

Айо́н — остров в Восточно-Сибирском море у входа в Чаунскую губу. Административно относится к Чаунскому району Чукотского АО России.


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